May we have a source, please?
I agree that if he did burn his parents' clothing in the middle of a police inquiry, that's looks like questionable behaviour and demands an explanation. And even if there weren't an ongoing investigation, you wouldn't burn them. Normally, when people die, their clothes are passed on to relatives or to local charity shops (Oxfam, etc.) or something similar. Nevill's suits might have been passed to the male relatives, etc.
Did he burn all the clothing? Was this remarked on by relatives in statements? If so, who?
The difficulty here, though, is in interpreting people's actions through your own experiences. Stan Jones said that when Bamber was first told what had happened, it looked like he was faking an emotional response. I can imagine that probably was the case, but it doesn't follow Bamber is the killer. Normal people fake being upset because a certain response is expected of them. How many of us have been faced with a situation like this?
The authorities informed me of my father's death. My first response was to laugh, but nobody suggested I'd murdered him. Perhaps it's just as well I didn't make myself a "hearty breakfast" or I could now be doing life?
That's another thing. If somebody makes themselves a "hearty breakfast" in those circumstances and carry on as if it's just another day in Essex farming, does that mean they don't care or is it another way of coping with the situation?
You know, some of us have that 'stiff upper lip' quality, especially if we're male. When the news of my father's death was broken to me, I was working in a market garden. I was never close to my father, who was a schizophrenic, and I disliked him.
My immediate response to his death was as follows:
I laughed.
Then I became very upset and broke down crying (probably the last time I can remember crying). This was partly because I felt I had to be seen to be upset, so at first it was a bit fake, but the funny thing about it is that once I started, I actually did become genuinely quite upset.
Then I made myself breakfast. Thankfully, I exercised economy in the matter and it was only a Continental breakfast, which probably explains why I'm not banged up like Jeremy.
Then I went back to work in the garden, as I'd just remembered that I had some baskets to make up for a customer.
The head gardener told me I could take some extra time off in the afternoon and go for a walk, if I liked. That's the English way of dealing with grief. Go for a walk.
I couldn't be bothered and just carried on working.
Within a day or so, I'd forgotten about my father. Somebody else was arranging the funeral.
My point is that - people are complex. You can look for patterns, and if you've formed a prejudice about somebody, which is what coppers tend to do, then you will find a certain pattern in their behaviour. Equally, you could explain it in another way.
I know that this post will attract sneering responses, but I'm not dismissing entirely these 'tertiary indicators' of guilt, especially as I think Jeremy probably is guilty, but.......we must be very careful!
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